Wednesday, October 15, 2014

This month it was back to enjoying track sessions at
High Plains Raceway (HPR), outside Denver, Colorado. Even though the previous
month had provided us with the opportunity to enjoy the delights of the Road
Atlanta course, it was behind the wheel of other peoples cars and that never
quite cuts it when it comes to really enjoying time on track. Throw in the
awful weather Atlanta provided, a bunch of nose-heavy high-output vehicles (for
the most part), and while it provided moments of fun, overall it was less than
fulfilling.

HPR has become our home track and in many ways it is a lot more fun turning up
for the open lapping days than participating in organized events. That’s not to
say National Auto Sports Association (NASA) doesn’t do a great job of putting
on a full-on track weekend, but rather, where Margo and I are at competence
wise, getting the opportunity for essentially unlimited time on track for less
than $200 is well worth it. NASA has been very good to us through the years and
we continue to check out calendars to see if we can make an event but what’s
even more important for us has been the friendships that have developed over
time.

While it was Margo and I who introduced our good friends, Brian and Jan, to
NASA, our shared enthusiasm for fast times on famous tracks has seen the
friendship strengthen over time. It was no surprise then for Brian and Jan to
hitch the trailer to their Chevy pick-up and drag their Corvette to Boulder.
The differences between our two vehicles are too numerous to chronicle in this
post, suffice to say all that they have in common is that they are both red but
even in the choice of colors, both are different shades of red. While our C5
Z06 is completely stock, save the fluids and brake pads, our friends’ C6 Coupe
is anything but stock, and fully capable of blowing away C6 Z06s that may show
up on track.

Mid-week there had been rain and at first, our track
day didn’t look all that promising. The HPR circuit had been subject to a lot
of rain before we arrived, with the last overnight deluge cleaning the surface
of the track so much so that it was pretty “green”. While I was running on
street tires, Brian was running on full-on racing slicks, so he elected to skip
the morning sessions preferring to go on track after a little more rubber had
been deposited. With the morning temperature still cool the track was anything
but ideal for a fast high-horsepower vehicle.

Fortunately for me, I was able to take Brian along for a ride. As much as Brian
isn’t all that comfortable being in the right-hand side seat, it was an
opportunity for him to renew his acquaintance with what for him is becoming one
of his favorite tracks. It took several laps before my brain warmed up, and
along the way I made some pretty weird gear selection choices, but overall, I
soon settled into the rhythm that for me is what I like doing on this track.
Get the speed just right, tackle turns with just one steering input, and
suddenly it becomes a whole lot of fun.

With Brian electing to run the afternoon session he was able to set up his GoPro
in our Vette. After all these years I have no video of me on track filmed from
inside the car, so I was looking forward to what may transpire. I wasn’t to be
disappointed as looking at film is very educational, but I have to admit I was
aware of the camera’s presence and for the first couple of laps I was anything
but accurate with the placement of the Vette. However, about four laps into the
session I began taking advantage of the whole track and stopped pinching some
of the faster turns, and this is something I have to work on right from the
outset.

The clip included above is about 20 minutes and it
shows how empty the circuit can be on open lapping days. As I recall, there was
a gathering of Audis with a BMW or two, plus a couple of Porsche 911s, but our
two Vettes were the only representatives of the marque and when I was on track
with the GoPro, all that I saw was a single BMW and a pair of Audis, one of
which was a fully prepped racecarwhich I prudently let by before I began
wondering whether or not I could hang with him.. After I decided to give it a
try he pitted and I had no other opportunity to see what might have happened.

Afternoon brought Brian on track and what a difference. I went with him for one
session and again I saw the track in a
completely different light. With so much mechanical grip, his C6 Coupe eclipsed
any time I was looking at by ten or more seconds right off the bat. Oh yeah,
and Brian is a far more competent and experienced driver than I am, and one that
really does exhibit levels of concentration I can only dream of reaching. For
one session we put the GoPro camera back in his car with him laying back behind
me to better film my lines and the only reason I’m not including it here was
that the film further highlighted just how much more room for improvement there
really was (for me)!

Track days – even simple open lapping days as we were enjoying – are still
extremely beneficial for drivers looking to develop the “muscle memory” link
that is all so important for smooth circulations of the track. I’m closer here,
at HPR, than anywhere else but I still have to devote more time. I have now
calculated that I have driven more than a thousand laps and yet, I still
consider myself to be in the learning phase and it further highlights just how
good the professional drivers really are as they race each other. As much of an
amateur that I am, however, there’s no getting away from the fact that even
with my level of competence, it’s a whole lot of fun to be behind the wheel,
going fast, enjoying the time on track where everyone is going in the same
direction and there’s no side streets or traffic lights!

One reason why open lapping days are as enjoyable as
they are is that when completed, they leave the weekend wide open. With Brian
and Jan in town and fall having just started, it was a great time to become
“leaf peepers”! Saturday we took in the sights of Estes Park while Sunday was a
driving day as we headed back to Grand Junction. Not only was the wine
beginning to flow, but nearby Palisades was the Peach capital of Colorado and
something not to be missed. For Margo and me, pictured above, looking down on a
forest alongside the Gunnison River as autumn colors began to break through,
the reasons for making the trip each year becomes pretty obvious!

It has become a ritual for Margo and me to spend one September weekend on
Colorado’s western slopes taking in the scenery and sampling the wares of the
region. Readers who check previous posts from Septembers past will recognize
the tradition (and the peaches reference), and while we usually elect to make
the journey during the Labor Day weekend, this time we were a few weekends
later and enjoyed the fact that fewer people were on the roads. Brian and Jan
were essentially driving back to Simi Valley, with us along for just the first
leg of their trip, but being able to pull into any sight unaffected by other
travelers was a new experience so much so that for anyone planning on visiting
western Colorado I would strong recommend waiting till after Labor Day.

Our track day had involved using our command center in order to provide Brian
and Jan some respite from the otherwise bleak conditions of a dreary prairie
outpost. Fortunately, in bringing along the RV we were able to check out all
that would be required for a longer excursion planed for late October. Business
would likely be taking us back to Nevada but on the return trip, we would have
time for another weekend in Zion’s National Park. It has become very easy to
attract business colleagues into the command center whenever we use the RV for
these purposes and on more than one occasion it has helped us close business.
Having said that there’s no escaping just how much Margo and I enjoy the
self-contained that comes with having an RV and we plan to continue exploiting
it in this manner for many years to come.

Before completing this post let me mention Brian’s and
Jan’s grandson, Colton Herta. This year saw Colton move up one more rung of the
ladder that leads to some serious open wheeler seat time whether it be F1 or
Indy Racing League. If you talk to Colton, now 14, it’s definitely all about
getting a seat in F1 and it’s not out of the question that this will happen at
some point. Colton competed in the F2000 series this year with events taking
place at the same time and often on the same tracks as the more senior Indy
Lights and Indy Car events. Unfortunately, turning 14 the weekend of the very
first event in the series meant that he missed the opening round and as the
season progressed, it became very clear that his team was giving him a car that
was just a tad off the pace.

However, when the opportunity came to race in Malaysia on the same track as F1
cars use, he jumped at the opportunity. As Racer
magazine was later to post, “Fourteen-year old Colton Herta had his first
two races in the AsiaCup Series races at Sepang, Malaysia, Saturday, collecting
first- and second-place finishes. The championship, for Formula BMW cars, is
run by Peter Thompson's Meritus.GP organization. This weekend's event is rounds
5-8 of the 12-round series, there are two more races on Sunday.” Unbelievable!
Up against experienced drivers who had been already racing for the season and
he grabs pole, then a first place and a hard fought second, with the Australian
driver, Jake, passing him on the very last turn (and yes, Jake is 20 years
old).

Of course the family was very pleased to hear the news even as it kept the
Kenny – Buckle household up until the wee hours as we followed updates directly
from the track. I have covered Colton in previous posts and watched him
progress from Karts to entry-level open wheelers to F2000. Colton even managed to
get a seat in a 650 hp Red Bull Global Rallycross GRC Lites car for the X Games
in Austin this year – where the games organizers acknowledged that “It’s
finally happened: a driver born in the 2000s will take part!” Even as I sit in
our Vette, with time on my hands these days even as I continue to develop the
necessary muscle memory needed to be a good driver, it’s very clear that any
thoughts I ever had of racing cars are well and truly behind me and like a
number of others in the extended Kenny – Buckle family, all I can do is join in
with others in admitting, “we all want to be Colton!”